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Transdisciplinary Application of Cross-Scale Resilience
Citation:
Sundstrom, S., D. Angeler, A. Garmestani, J. Garcia, AND C. Allen. Transdisciplinary Application of Cross-Scale Resilience. Sustainability. MDPI, Basel, Switzerland, 6(10):6925-6948, (2014).
Impact/Purpose:
Comparative analyses of complex systems have, in fact, demonstrated commonalities among distinctly different types of systems (Schneider & Kay 1994; Holling 2001; Lansing 2003; Foster 2005; Bullmore et al. 2009). Both biological and non-biological complex systems appear to evolve and be structured by similar principles, leading to a limited set of possible topological network structures, organization, dynamics and behavior that are to some extent universal across system types (Watts & Strogatz 1998; Gunderson & Holling 2002; Barabási 2009; Bullmore et al. 2009). For example, self-organization in complex adaptive systems (CASs) occurs in open systems because the ability to dissipate energy by importing free energy and exporting entropy requires structures that are connected to the external environment but to other systems and subsystems, such there is structural ‘irreversibility’ as well as the capacity to reconfigure connections within boundary limits (Jørgensen & Fath 2004; Foster 2005). This basic principle applies whether a CAS is strictly ecological, or is more human-dominated, such as an economy. Shared principles has the pleasing consequence that theory, modeling and tools developed within one field for a particular type of CAS may be pertinent to another field, creating powerful opportunities for shared learning and collaboration.
Description:
The cross-scale resilience model was developed in ecology to explain the emergence of resilience from the distribution of ecological functions within and across scales, and as a tool to assess resilience. We propose that the model and the underlyingdiscontinuity hypothesis are relevant to other complex adaptive systems, and can be used to identify and track changes in system parameters related to resilience. We explain the theory behind the cross-scale resilience model, review the cases where it has been applied to non-ecological systems, and discuss some examples of social-ecological, archaeological/anthropological, and economic systems where a cross-scale resilience analysis could add a quantitative dimension to our current understanding of system dynamics and resilience. We argue that the scaling and diversity parameters suitable for a resilience analysis of ecological systems are appropriate for a broad suite of systems where non-normative quantitative assessments of resilience are desired. Our planet is currently characterized by fast environmental and social change, and the cross-scale resilience model has the potential to quantify resilience across many types of complex adaptive systems.
